Test cricket is the oldest form of cricket played at international level. A Test match is scheduled to take place over a period of five days, and is played by teams representing full member nations of the International Cricket Council (ICC).
The following is a list of records by the New Zealand Test cricket team. It is based on the List of Test cricket records, but concentrates solely on records dealing with the New Zealand Test cricket team, and any cricketers who have played for that team.
New Zealand took part in their first recognised Test cricket match against England in the 1929/30 season, and the records listed here date from that time. New Zealand won the inaugural ICC World Test Championship, beating India in the final by 8 wickets. They are ranked number two in Tests, number one in ODIs and number four in T20Is.
Key The top five records are listed for each category, except for the team wins, losses, draws and ties and the partnership records. Tied records for fifth place are also included. Explanations of the general symbols and cricketing terms used in the list are given below. Specific details are provided in each category where appropriate. All records include matches played for New Zealand only, and are correct . + Key Symbol Meaning Player or umpire is currently active in Test cricket * Player remained not out or partnership remained unbroken ♠ Test cricket record d Innings was declared (e.g. 8/758d) Date Starting date of the Test match Innings Number of innings played Matches Number of matches played Opposition The team New Zealand was playing against Period The time period when the player was active in Test cricket Player The player involved in the record Venue Test cricket ground where the match was played
Team records
Overall record WonLostDrawnTiedWin %480121189170025.20Last Updated: 9 August 2025
Team wins, losses, draws and ties , New Zealand have played 480 Test matches resulting in 121 victories, 189 defeats and 170 draws, a draw counts as 0.5 wins
OpponentFirst MatchMatchesWonLostDrawTied% Won 1946 62 8 36 18 0 27.42 2001 19 14 2 3 0 81.58 1930 118 15 56 47 0 32.63 1955 65 16 22 27 0 45.38 1955 62 14 25 23 0 41.13 1932 49 7 26 16 0 30.61 1983 40 18 11 11 0 59.21 1952 52 19 13 20 0 55.77 1992 19 13 0 6 0 82.35Total480121189170042.84
First Test series wins
Opponent Year of first Home win Year of first Away win YTP YTP 1986 1986 2001 2004 1984 1986 1981 2024 YTP 2026 1985 1970 2024 - 1983 1984 1980 2002 1998 1992 Last updated: 12 June 2026
First Test match wins
Opponent Home Away Venue Year Venue Year YTP YTP YTP YTP Christchurch 1974 Brisbane 1985 Hamilton 2001 Dhaka 2004 Wellington 1978 Leeds 1983 Christchurch 1968 Nagpur 1969 YTP YTP Belfast 2026 Auckland 1985 Lahore 1969 Auckland 2004 Cape Town 1961 Christchurch 1983 Kandy 1984 Auckland 1956 Bridgetown 2002 Wellington 1998 Harare 1992 Last updated: 16 February 2024
Team scoring records
Most runs in an innings The highest innings score by the Blackcaps is 715/6d in first Test of the 2018–19 series against Bangladesh 2019.
Rank Score Opposition Venue Date 1 Seddon Park, Hamilton, New Zealand 2 Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah, UAE 3 Basin Reserve, Wellington, New Zealand 4 5 Hagley Oval, Christchurch, New Zealand Last updated: 5 January 2021
Highest successful run chases New Zealand's highest fourth innings total is 451 all out in an unsuccessful run chase against England at Christchurch in March 2002. England had set a target of 549. New Zealand's highest successful run chase occurred against Pakistan at Christchurch in 1994. Pakistan had set New Zealand a target of 324.
Rank Score Target Opposition Venue Date 1 324 Lancaster Park, Christchurch, New Zealand 2 317 Chittagong Divisional Stadium, Chittagong, Bangladesh 3 285 Basin Reserve, Wellington, New Zealand 4 278 Carisbrook, Dunedin, New Zealand 5 267 Seddon Park, Hamilton, New Zealand Last updated: 16 February 2024
Fewest runs in an innings The lowest innings total scored in Test cricket came in the second Test of England's tour of New Zealand in March 1955. Trailing England by 46, New Zealand was bowled out in their second innings for 26 runs.
Rank Score Opposition Venue Date 1 26♠ Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand 2 42 Basin Reserve, Wellington, New Zealand 2 45 Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town, South Africa 447 Lord's, London, England 5 54 Basin Reserve, Wellington, New Zealand Last updated: 23 June 2020
Most runs conceded in an innings The highest innings total scored against New Zealand is by West Indies when they scored 660/5d in the second Test of the West Indies tour of New Zealand in 1995 at Basin Reserve.
Rank Score Opposition Venue Date 1 Basin Reserve, Wellington, New Zealand 2 Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, Pakistan 3 Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand 4 5 The Gabba, Brisbane, Australia Last updated: 23 August 2020
Fewest runs conceded in an innings The lowest innings total scored against New Zealand is 46 by India where New Zealand tour of India in 2024
Rank Score Opposition Venue Date 1 46 M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, India 2 51 McLean Park, Napier, New Zealand 3 58 Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand 4 59 Harare Sports Club, Harare, Zimbabwe 5 64 Basin Reserve, Wellington, New Zealand Last updated: 3 December 2017
Result records
A Test match is won when one side has scored more runs than the total runs scored by the opposing side during their two innings. If both sides have completed both their allocated innings and the side that fielded last has the higher aggregate of runs, it is known as a win by runs. This indicates the number of runs that they had scored more than the opposing side. If one side scores more runs in a single innings than the total runs scored by the other side in both their innings, it is known as a win by innings and runs. If the side batting last wins the match, it is known as a win by wickets, indicating the number of wickets that were still to fall.
Greatest win margins (by innings) The fifth Test of the 1938 Ashes series at The Oval saw England win by an innings and 579 runs, the largest victory by an innings in Test cricket history. The largest victory for New Zealand, which is the 3rd largest, is their win against Zimbabwe in the second Test of the 2025 tour at Bulawayo, where the tourists won by an innings and 359 runs.
Rank Margin Opposition Venue Date 1 Innings and 359 runs Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe 2 Innings and 301 runs McLean Park, Napier, New Zealand 3 Innings and 294 runs Harare Sports Club, Harare, Zimbabwe 4 Innings and 276 runs Hagley Oval, Christchurch, New Zealand 5 Innings and 185 runs Seddon Park, Hamilton, New Zealand Last updated: 9 August 2025
Greatest win margins (by runs) The greatest winning margin by runs in Test cricket was England's victory over Australia by 675 runs in the first Test of the 1928–29 Ashes series. The largest victory recorded by New Zealand, which is the 8th largest victory, was recorded against Sri Lanka in the second and final Test of the 2018-19 tour at the Hagley Oval, where the hosts won by 423 runs.
Rank Margin Opposition Venue Date 1 423 runs Hagley Oval, Christchurch, New Zealand Seddon Park, Hamilton, New Zealand 3 323 runs Bay Oval, Tauranga, New Zealand 4 281 runs Bay Oval, Tauranga, New Zealand 5 254 runs Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe Last updated: 24 December 2025
Greatest win margins (by 10 wickets) New Zealand have won a Test match by a margin of 10 wickets on 5 occasions.
Rank Number of Victories Opposition Most Recent Venue Date 1 3 Basin Reserve, Wellington, New Zealand 2 1 Last updated: 3 December 2017
Narrowest win margins (by runs) New Zealand's narrowest win was by 1 run (the second such victory in Test history, after West Indies), against England in a match in February 2023. England made 435 runs in first innings. In response, New Zealand were dismissed for 209 and were asked to follow-on. In the second innings, New Zealand scored 483 runs to set a target of 257 runs to win for England, which they fell one run short of.
Rank Margin Opposition Venue Date 1 Basin Reserve, Wellington, New Zealand 2 Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi, UAE 3 Bellerive Oval, Hobart, Australia 4 Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, India 5 Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand Last updated: 28 February 2023
Narrowest win margins (by wickets) New Zealand's narrowest win by wickets came in the first Test of the West Indies cricket team in New Zealand in 1979-80 in February 1980. Played at the Carisbrook, the hosts won the match by a margin of one wicket, one of only fourteen one-wicket victories in Test cricket.
Rank Margin Opposition Venue Date 1 1 wicket Carisbrook, Dunedin, New Zealand 2 2 wickets 3 3 wickets Chittagong Divisional Stadium, Chittagong, Bangladesh 4 4 wickets Basin Reserve, Wellington, New Zealand Seddon Park, Hamilton, New Zealand Last updated: 20 June 2020
Greatest loss margins (by innings) The Oval in London played host the greatest defeat by an innings in Test cricket. The final Test of the 1938 Ashes saw England defeat the tourists by an innings and 579 runs, to the draw the series at one match all. New Zealand's biggest defeat came during the Pakistan tour in 2002 when they lost by an innings and 324 runs at Lahore Stadium, Lahore.
Rank Margin Opposition Venue Date 1 Innings and 324 runs Lahore Stadium, Lahore, Pakistan 2 Innings and 322 runs Basin Reserve, Wellington, New Zealand 3 Innings and 222 runs Bellerive Oval, Hobart, Australia 4 Innings and 215 runs Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand 5 Innings and 198 runs Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur, India Last updated: 20 June 2020
Greatest loss margins (by runs) The first Test of the 1928–29 Ashes series saw Australia defeated by England by 675 runs, the greatest losing margin by runs in Test cricket. New Zealand's biggest defeat by runs was against South Africa in the first Test of the 2007 tour at New Wanderers Stadium.
Rank Margin Opposition Venue Date 1 372 runs Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, India 2 358 runs New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa 3 299 runs Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand 4 297 runs 5 272 runs Last updated: 6 December 2021
Greatest loss margins (by 10 wickets) New Zealand have lost a Test match by a margin of 10 wickets on 13 occasions with most recent being during the 2nd test of the New Zealand cricket team in the West Indies in 2014.
Rank Margin Opposition Venue Date 1 5 Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad 2 3 Basin Reserve, Wellington, New Zealand 3 2 Seddon Park, Hamilton, New Zealand Seddon Park, Hamilton, New Zealand 5 1 Galle International Stadium, Galle, Sri Lanka Last updated: 20 June 2020
Narrowest loss margins (by runs) The narrowest loss of New Zealand in terms of runs is by 30 runs against South Africa in the first test of the New Zealand's tour of South Africa in 1961.
Rank Margin Opposition Venue Date 1 30 runs Kingsmead, Durban, South Africa 2 33 runs Seddon Park, Hamilton, New Zealand 3 38 runs Trent Bridge, Nottingham, England 4 60 runs Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai, India 5 62 runs Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand Last updated: 20 June 2020
Narrowest loss margins (by wickets) The narrowest loss of New Zealand in terms of wickets is by 3 wickets against Australia in the third test of New Zealand cricket team in Australia in 2015–16.
Rank Margin Opposition Venue Date 1 3 wicket Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Australia 2 4 wickets Bagh-e-Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, Australia Lancaster Park, Christchurch, New Zealand Trent Bridge, Nottingham, England New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa Last updated: 20 June 2020
Batting records
Most career runs A run is the basic means of scoring in cricket. A run is scored when the batsman hits the ball with his bat and with his partner runs the length of of the pitch.